About the Author

Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, MC (27 June 1883 – 8 March 1929), was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was nicknamed 'Woodbine Willie' during World War I for giving Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying soldiers. Thomas O'Loughlin is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Nottingham. Rev Dr Stuart Bell is an honorary research fellow at St John’s College, Durham

Reviews

'More than any other person Studdert Kennedy brings home to us the reality of a God who suffers, not just once on the cross, but in nature, history and contemporary pain. In The Hardest Part we have a theology that arose directly out of the horror and pity of his battlefield experience that still speaks to us today. Its blunt rejection of false ideas of God and vivid images that touched ordinary non-religious soldiers still has a freshness and relevance.'
*former Bishop of Oxford*

'Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy is a legendary figure in the history of the First World War, and indeed of the Anglican tradition in the twentieth century. The Hardest Part represents the efforts of this brilliant and profoundly sensitive thinker to the horrors he witnessed at the Western Front, and in the process he created a modern spiritual classic. This centennial edition should make it even better known to new generations. The editors have done a superb job of explaining the background to the man, and to the situation in which he found himself. The resulting book is a priceless contribution.'
*Baylor University*

'What is God like? Asks Studdert Kennedy - Answer: 'God, the God I love and worship reigns in sorrow on the Tree, Broken, bleeding, but unconquered, very God of God to me.' This outstanding new critical edition focuses Studdert Kennedy's transformative theology, forged on the bitter, bloody anvil of murderous conflict.'
*Dr Stephen Platten*